Hawaiian Islands Weather details & Aloha Paragraphs / May 3-4, 2013

Air Temperatures– The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Friday:

79 Lihue, Kauai

82 Honolulu, Oahu

79 Molokai

89 Kahului, Maui

84 Kona, Hawaii

83 Hilo, Hawaii

Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level – and on the highest mountain tops around the state…as of 1010pm Friday night:

Kailua Kona – 77

Hilo, Hawaii – 70

Haleakala Summit – 46 (near 10,000 feet on Maui)

Mauna Kea Summit – 37 (13,000+ feet on the Big Island)

Hawaii’s Mountains – Here’s a link to the live web cam on the summit of near 13,800 foot Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii. This web cam is available during the daylight hours here in the islands…and when there’s a big moon shining down during the night at times. Plus, during the nights you will be able to see stars, and the sunrise and sunset too… depending upon weather conditions. Here’s the Haleakala Crater webcam on Maui – if it’s working.

Tropical Cyclone activity in the eastern and central Pacific – Here’s the latest weather information coming out of the National Hurricane Center, covering the eastern north Pacific. You can find the latest tropical cyclone information for the central north Pacific (where Hawaii is located) by clicking on this link to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. A satellite image, which shows the entire ocean area between Hawaii and the Mexican coast… can be found here. The 2012 hurricane season is over in the eastern and central Pacific… resuming on May 15th and June 1st 2013.

Aloha Paragraphs

Weak cold front approaching the state, some showers this weekend

The following numbers represent the most recent top wind gusts (mph), along with directions as of Friday evening:

12 Waimea Heights, Kauai – NE

20 Kahuku Trng, Oahu – SE

09 Molokai – SE

29 Kahoolawe – NE

18 Lipoa, Maui – ENE

23 Upolu airport, Big Island – NE

Here are the latest 24-hour precipitation totals (inches) for each of the islands as of Friday evening:

Our winds will be light and variable ahead of a weakening cold front. Here’s a weather chart showing a near 1037 millibar high pressure system, located far to the northeast of the islands. This high pressure cell has an elongated ridge of high pressure extending southwest from its center, over the central islands. At the same time, we find an approaching cold front over the ocean, just to the northwest of Kauai at the time of this writing. Our winds will be light and variable, with a tendency to the southeast ahead of the weakening cold front…then light northerlies in the wake of the frontal system.

Satellite imagery shows clear to partly cloudy skies over the island chain, along with the leading edge of a cold front…and some high cirrus clouds too. We’ll find the typical afternoon clouds over and around the mountains again Saturday, prompted by the daytime heating of the islands…and the onshore sea breezes. Here’s the looping radar image, showing just a few scattered showers over the ocean, the most of which were closest to Kauai at the time of this writing. The cold front may try to push down into the island chain, which will add some showers to our forecast…although its still a question as to far it gets.

A very late season cold front is getting closer to Kauai…with a ridge of high pressure over the islands. The lighter winds, now that the ridge is over us, will keep us in a convective weather pattern. Light winds offshore will prompt onshore daytime sea breezes over the islands, carrying moisture from over the ocean…into the upcountry areas during the days. This moisture will condense into cumulus clouds, with ensuing showers falling over the interior sections during the afternoon hours locally. There are apt to be some showers, more directly associated with the cold front, a few of which may become locally quite heavy. The cold front will reach near Kauai Saturday, and then may be able to push down towards the central islands. As this front moves into the state, we’ll see light northerly breezes filling in behind it. These probably won’t be strong enough to stop our daytime sea breezes however. Looking further ahead, the models continue showing yet another weak cold front riding down toward the island chain around next Wednesday. The moisture offshore to our north and northeast, carried into our windward sides by the returning trade winds at mid-week…may bring light to moderate precipitation to our windward sides then.

Here on Maui [515pm Friday, HST]: Today was much like what we saw Thursday, and I would imagine Saturday will end up being quite like today as well. As I was saying above, how far this cold front will get into the state is still an open question. Some of the models show it stalling near Kauai, while others show it falling apart somewhere further into the state, perhaps even reaching the Big Island by Sunday night or early Monday morning. It still looks like the daytime heating of the islands, in combination with whatever moisture the front brings, will bring the best chance of showers during the afternoon hours. As for the vog, it’s around, although hasn’t gotten thick as a brick just yet. I see some high cirrus clouds in our local skies too, which may add some nice pink to our sunset this evening. I’m about ready to go out and water the garden now, take a shower, and get ready to head down to Kahului for my film. Finally, I just got this from the NWS office in Honolulu: “very dry conditions across Maui County during April. All of the gages on the island of Maui had monthly totals below 30 percent of average, with leeward Maui totals at less than 10 percent of average. The lack of trade winds and the inability of the cold fronts to reach Maui, resulted in Puu Kukui and Hana Airport…both having their lowest April totals on record.” I’ll catch up with you again Saturday morning, I hope you have a great Friday night wherever you’re spending it! Aloha, Glenn

Friday evening film: This week I’m going to see one that’s so macho, I’m almost embarrassed to say what it is. At any rate, this is an action/adventure film called Pain & Gain, starring Mark Wahlberg, Dwayne Johnson, Anthony Mackle, Rob Corddry, Ed Harris, and Bar Paly…among others. The synopsis: From acclaimed director Michael Bay comes “Pain and Gain,” a new action comedy. Based on the unbelievable true story of a group of personal trainers in 1990s Miami who, in pursuit of the American Dream, get caught up in a criminal enterprise that goes horribly wrong. According to one website, 47% of the critics liked this film, while 60% of the audience liked it. I have a pretty good idea that I’ll like this dark comedy well enough, and will be sure to let you know Saturday morning my impression. Just in case you have an interest in seeing the trailer, just click on the link.

John~~~Hi John, 17 years, wow, one of those long, long term readers! You are so welcome, this weather work is just what I’ve always done, since being a small child…and I’ll take it on through the rest of my life. As for Sunday’s meteor shower, I’ll look into that, and of course will post some news about that. Thanks for taking the time to comment John, it’s really appreciated! Aloha, Glenn